What I liked about the book: McPhee is a good writer and makes almost any subject interesting. He uses the vocabulary of the various carriers in such a way that you can almost always follow along even though the words aren’t defined. Without going into too much detail, he brings a subject alive and covers it from all sorts of angles.

What I didn’t like about the book: His essay on following Thoreau didn’t seem to fit in the book, but it was interesting. McPhee often interviews people who swear a lot, and he sometimes seems to enjoy putting that in his books for effect.

The most interesting fact: Approximately six billion gallons of diesel fuel is used up each year by truck drivers who leave their trucks idling at night for heat or air conditioning.

Recommendation: Not my favorite of his books but interesting.

Further Comments: McPhee is a fan of Henry David Thoreau's. Survival of the Bark Canoe records a voyage Mcphee took in the wake of one Thoreau described in The Maine Woods. A chapter in this book follows Thoreau’s A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River.